Friday, May 23, 2014

Evanscandal

“My attorneys continue to advise me not to discuss this suit with othersnor to make any statements to news mediaabout the allegations brought against me and others.I have followed their advice and intend tocontinue to follow it through the duration of this suit."[1]

"I continually operated with a self-preservation mindsetthat influenced how I pastored and led others."[2]

1. An evangelical leader - caught in a scandal, sinful or illegal action, public disgrace, offensive conduct, shameful behavior, "defraudings,"[5] or any other opprobrious deportment - who engages in cover-up, "spin," denials, blasting critics, shifting blame, implausible deniability, harassing victims, counter-attacks, accusations, theological twistings, arguments over minutiae, obfuscation, hiding evidence, misleadings; and employing semantic gymnastics, righteous indignation, lying, deceiving, justifications, technical jargon, outright vengeance, and other similar methods. 2. An evangelical leader who commits such actions and gets caught, who resorts to marketing strategies to restore ("spin") his/her tarnished image. Such marketing methods include hiring a public relations firm, lawyers and press agents; enlisting radio talk show hosts, publishers, media outlets, writers, and big name leaders in the "evangelical industrial complex"[6]; and engaging friends, buddies, colleagues, and associates to speak favorably about him/her - all engaged in damage control and the restoration of his/her shattered public image. Such leaders, using these tactics, try to "get away with it" with as little
collateral damage as possible. 3. An evangelical leader who commits such actions and gets caught, who believes that he/she is "basically good but just flubbed up a bit," and who depends on the whole "Oops!" episode "blowing over quickly" so that they can just get on with their ministry/business. Such leaders often operate out of multiple corporate structures, which enables them to sidestep the controversy and continue on in equally profitable ventures as though nothing happened. 4. An evangelical leader who commits such actions and gets caught, who fails to acknowledge sin or admit wrongdoing, refuses to name the sin, does not express true contrition, avoids public expression of repentance, and neglects to perform restitution wherever and however possible - but, rather, issues a press release with sweeping blanket statements designed to minimize the impact, trivialize the issue(s), sweep everything under the carpet, and superficially appear to be sorry. Such leaders heavily depend upon "evangullibility" so that they can continue on as before without any serious or long-lasting negative consequences.

"For I acknowledge my transgressions:and my sin is ever before me.Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned,and done this evil in Thy sight:that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest,and be clear when Thou judgest....Create in me a clean heart, O God;and renew a right spirit within me."(Psalm 51: 3-4,10)

"If I was the head of an organization where this kind of behaviorhad been taking place for years,even though if I didn't actually perform this kind of behavior,even if I didn't even know about the behavior,the only thing I would say is 'I'm sick.I'm sorry.I will do whatever I need to do to help the victims and their families,'..."[7]

About Me

Check your daily "HERESCOPE." Herescope is an online journal revealing heresies and false teachings affecting the church today. Copyright 2005-2017 held by the author, IRG, Inc., or Discernment Ministries, Inc. unless otherwise noted. Herescope is a term coined by Lynn Leslie literally meaning "scoping out a heresy." Herescope began as a regular magazine column in The Christian Conscience magazine published during 1995-1998 by IRG, Inc. The Discernment Research Group is an ad hoc fellowship of Christian researchers with roots dating back to 1985. For more articles, books, and newsletters go to http://www.discernment-ministries.org.